BlackBerry Curve 9320 - Officially Announced... Kind Of

The official Inside BlackBerry Blog has posted an awesome article about the newest member of the BlackBerry family, the Curve 9320. This announcement, if we could even technically call it that, comes after much speculation of this device's existence in the first place for the last few months.

The Curve 9320 is in essence the same as the latest line up of Curves 93xx's except with a couple of modifications. The 9320 comes pre-loaded with OS 7.1 so no need to wait for your carrier to make it official, it already is.

The Curve 9320 also features a couple of hardware changes. The call, menu, back and end buttons are now raised, Bold 9790-like. A new dedicated BBM hot key on the left hand of the device has also been added to make it super easy to keep in touch with your favorite BBM contacts. Also, since BBM 6.2 came along, the BBM key will allow you to streamline voice notes to these contacts for even easier sharing/communication.

This device is obviously aimed at a younger demographic that doesn't necessarily want the highest end BlackBerry, but does have a need for a quality communicating tool.

Check the press release below.

Press Release

RIM Introduces the BlackBerry Curve 9320-A Stylish, New Smartphone for the Socially-Connected

WATERLOO, ONTARIO - May 9, 2012) - Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ:RIMM)(TSX:RIM) today announced a stylish new smartphone for socially-connected customers. The new BlackBerry® Curve™ 9320 smartphone features all the core BlackBerry messaging and social-centric features that keep people connected, and it offers global 3G connectivity backed by long battery life to allow users to make the most of their day.

"The new BlackBerry Curve 9320 is designed to make it incredibly easy for users to stay socially-connected," said Carlo Chiarello, EVP, Smartphone Business at Research In Motion. "The new BlackBerry Curve 9320 will be especially popular with customers upgrading to a smartphone for the first time and existing Curve customers looking for a step up in speed and functionality."

The BlackBerry Curve 9320 has everything a customer needs to stay in touch with the people and things that matter most to them. It features a dedicated BBM™ key, bringing the power of RIM's popular mobile social network up in an instant, as well as the best keyboard in its class for quick and easy typing. It includes a built-in FM radio, allowing users to tune into their favorite local stations, and listening to the FM radio does not require a data plan or use data services. Designed to allow both 3G connectivity and long battery life, customers can get up to 7 hours of talk time or up to 30 hours of FM radio listening or music playback with
headphones.

Customers can easily interact with their social network in real time, using preloaded apps for Facebook® and Twitter®. The new Social Feeds 2.0 app is also preloaded, allowing users to post updates to multiple social networks simultaneously and capture updates from news
sources (RSS), social apps and instant messaging apps all in one consolidated view. The integrated camera includes a flash and supports video recording, and pictures can be tagged with their location thanks to the smartphone's built-in GPS.

The BlackBerry Curve 9320 comes with the new BlackBerry® 7.1 OS, which supports features such as Mobile Hotspot and Wi-Fi® calling where available.* Parental Controls is a brand new, on-device features that provides parents and guardians with simple options to help protect
children by restricting access to specific functions, features and applications.

Pricing and availability of the BlackBerry Curve 9320 will beannounced in conjunction with RIM's distribution partners. For more information please visit: http//worldwide.blackberry.com/blackberrycurve/9220-9320.